ARC Raiders update adds Forgotten Relics event and expands anti-cheat push

ARC Raiders update 1.33.0 went live with a clear message: Embark wants more commitment at the front door and more friction around the back end. The Converging Paths project runs from June 16 through July 27, turning regular XP into Merits on any map, while extra Merits come from extracting relics pulled out of lockers, drawers, crates, and other containers.

The reward track is built to keep players moving, not just looting. Progress through the project unlocks the Saltwalker Outfit, a backpack charm, and Raider Tokens, while finishing Converging Paths also pays out the Red-Black color variant of the Saltwalker Outfit, a Sextant backpack charm, and Raider Tokens. Embark says the total earnable this season is 300, and the project also feeds a broader display case style progression system, which gives the grind something beyond a simple currency drip.

The bigger day-to-day change, though, is the three-week test on free loadouts. Embark disabled them for Night Raid and Close Scrutiny, saying it wants players to match the risk and reward of higher-value conditions. In plain terms, that means anyone stepping into those playlists during the test will need to bring a paid kit instead of using the free safety net. For newer players and anyone short on gear, that is a harder line: fewer zero-cost throws at a risky run, less room to recover after a bad night, and more pressure to decide whether the loot is worth the kit.

That same push for tighter rules is running alongside a much broader anti-cheat effort. Embark said it is continuing to expand Denuvo Anti-Cheat to more players, and its security stack also includes Easy Anti-Cheat with kernel-level protection and Anybrain. The studio has been blunt that anti-cheat is a studio-wide effort, and on February 17 it said it would begin enforcement actions against accounts confirmed to have abused exploits after validating reports and measuring the impact on the economy and competitive integrity.

That context matters because extraction shooters live on trust. ARC Raiders has already seen the cost of exploit pressure, from the safe-pocket weapon abuse fixed in patch 1.18.0 to the unbalanced weapon economy called out in Riven Tides. Update 1.33.0 does not just add an event. It draws a firmer line around who gets to enter, what they can bring, and how hard Embark is willing to push before the game feels less forgiving and more like a real test.